Camera



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f INVENTOR ATTO EY April 27, 1937. c. H. WHITLOCKCAMERA Original Filed Dec. 8, 1933 2 IIIIIPIIIII QzrLE BY April 1937- c.H. WHITLOCK 2,078,432

CAMERA Original Filed Dec. 8, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v a'sA ITORNEYPatented Apr. 27, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CAMERA York Original application December 8, 1933, Serial No.

701,488. Divided and this application August 23, 1934, Serial No.741,113

6 Claims. (CF. 242- -71) This invention relates to the construction ofphotographic cameras, and has for one object the provision of animproved fllm spool of novel form.

Another-object is the provision of improved film winding means of simpleand effective form.

A further object is the provision of a generally improved and moresatisfactory camera.

A still further object is the provision of various improvements indetails which are especially useful in cameras of small size of theso-called snapshot variety for amateur use.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvementsand combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a camera constructed according to a preferredembodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top view thereof;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical section taken substantially centrallythrough the camera;

Fig. 5 is a section substantially on the line 6-5 of Figs. 2 and 4;

Fig. 6 is a section substantially on the line 6- -6 of Figs. 2 and 4;

Fig. '1 is a rear view of the camera with the back cover removed, and

Fig. 8 is an interior view of the back cover removed from the camera.

The same reference numerals throughout the several views indicate thesame parts.-

This application is a division of my co-pending application for patenton Camera, Serial No. 701,488, filed December 8, 1933. Various featuresshown but not claimed in the present application are claimed in saidparent case and in other di- 40 visions thereof. According to thepresent invention there is provided a camera mainly of molded material(such as "Bakelite, for example) which, in the present instance, isembodied in a hand camera 45 of the non-collapsible type; that is. acamera of substantially rigid construction which does not fold up. V 5

' The camera comprises-a body of generally rectangular shape includingside walls 2| and 'top and bottom walls 22 formingya dark chamber orexposure chamber. It will be understood that the terms *top" andbottom". and similar expressions used in this specification and in theaccompanying claims are employed merely for convenience of description,for obviously pictures may be taken with the camera turned upside downor on its side, so that what is here described as the top may become theside or bottom of the camera,

and vice versa.

At an intermediate point on each of the top and bottom walls 22 areoutwardly extending walls 23 which extend upwardly from the top wall anddownwardly from the bottom wall and thence rearwardly to form chambersfor receiving film spools. It will be noted that these walls 23 are at apoint materially rearwardly of the front end of the body formed by thewalls 2| and 22, so that this body in effect forms an extension ofsubstantially rectangular outline extending for a material distanceforwardly from the plane of the spool chambers. I

The walls 23 terminate at rear edges 24 for contact with front edges 25of a back or cover member 26. Preferably the edges 24 and 26 are eachstepped or formed with a plurality of offset angular shoulders,interengaging with each other as plainly shown in the drawings, for thepurpose of forming a tight-light seal for preventing entrance of lightat the joint between the parts.

The side walls 2| of the body have thickened portions or outwardlyextending flanges 29 running exteriorly along each .side at their rearedges, which flanges are likewise of stepped'construction to cooperatewith and form a tight light seal with similar complementary steps on thefront edges of side flanges 30 formed on the back cover 26.

It will be noted from Fig. 4 that the side walls 2! and top and'bottomwalls 22 of the camera body extend rearwardly to a plane behind theplane of separation of the back 26 from the body. These walls 2! and 22terminate in smooth rear Tedges all lying in a common plane which is theocal plane of the camera, these-rear edges being rounded as indicated at35, so that m may slide easily over the edges. It will be seen that theside flanges 30 of the back 26 lie outside of the side walls 2| of thebody and the main rear wall of the back 26 itself lies slightlyrearward- 1y of the rear edges of the walls 2| and 22, to provide aspace for receiving and guiding the fllm shown at 38. V

The walls 2i, 22, and 23 are preferably all formed integrally as asingle unitary molded article. The back member 26 with its forwardlyextending flanges is preferably also formed of a single piece of moldedmaterial, and the side flanges 30 of the back closely embrace the outersurfaces of the sidewalls 2| of the body, to hold the back frictionallyin position on the body. To

' assist in holding the parts. one of the elements is provided withindentations, such as the in- .dentations .0 (Fig. 7) formed in the sidewalls II,

and the other of the separable elements is formed with cooperatingprojections, such as the projections II (Fig.8) formed on the innersurfaces of the side flanges II of the back. The molded material ofwhich the back is made is suflciently resilient so that the de flangeswill give a little bit.'allowing the jections Ii tosnap into theindentations II when the parts are closed,'and

permitting the projections Ii to pull out of the indentations II whenthe back cover is opened.

on the inner face ofeach side flange II is preferably a thickenedportion or shoulder II, best shown in Pig. 8. of less width than theside flanges, extending a little beyond the top and bottom walls 22 ofthe body when the back member is in normal closed position on the body.These shoulders II on the side flanges of the back form lateral guidesfor the edges of the fllm II and hold the fllm against sidewisedisplacement,

I while the fllm is held against displacement out of the-focal plane bythe fact that its front surf'aceis engaged with the rearedges of thewalls Ii and II on all four sides, and is-held against them bythebackII.Therearedgesoithewalls II and 22 form in eflect a screen or maskdeflning the exposure area of the Min.

fllmspoolsusedinthepresent camera are preferably of novel construction.and, as shown especiallyinl'iga4 andii,each spool comprises a stem IIand apair of disks "and I! attached tc'the stern and spaced from eachother for re-- 'ceiving the fllm between them in'known manner. The stemII, between the two disks, may have a slot" formed therein through whichone end 'ofthefllm maybetucked. Oneendcfthe stem I may project beyondthe disk I] as at II and the other end of the stem projects beyond thediskIIandcarriesawindingkncbII flxedtothe stem foruseinturning thespool.- The parts", II, and Il may conveniently be formed of metal andthe knob II may be conveniently made of -moldedmaterialsimilartothati'rcmwhichthe camera body is made, although, of course, othermaterials might be used. The inner side of the knob II. or side towardthe disk", is of stepped formation as clearly shown in-Fig. 5, for thepurpose of forming a light seal with the camera body as will beexplained below.

The left hand side walls of the spool chamhers at their rear edges, areprovided with suitable notches II (Fig. '1) one at the end of each spoolchamber, which notches are of proper sizetc receive the projecting endsII of the spool stems but which do not extend all the way through thewall. The corresponding side wall II of the(1"ig.8)sotbatwhenthebackisinplaceonthe camerabody, the notches II andII form between them bearings for the projecting ends II of thestemsofspools placed in-the respective spool chambers.

astheoppcsiteendoteachspoolchambenthat is.attherighthandend of thechamber-when the' cameraisviewedfromthebackasinrigfll,

sidewailsoi'thebodyaretormedwithaper-IIsomewhatsimilartothienotchesII,but thesesperturesextendailthe mthroughthe wailandare man I 'directio'mas'plainlyshown inl'ig.'!.Oooperatingsteppcdaperturesllare twmedinthelidtm nvltbe es steppedformation, increasinginoutward backII. Thestcl scorrespondtoandarecomplementaltothesteps onth'ewindingknobsIIoithefllmspoois, sothat thestepsoftheknobsinterlockwith thestepsotthecamerabodyandbackand provideaneflectivelightsealsswellillustratedinl'igsjandd, inspiteoi'thefactthattheknobIIoteachspool isiccatedexteriorlyoithecameraandiscapable or turning relativelytothecamera.

The nimsunply spool. which occupiesthe lowerchamberwhenthecameraisviewedasinl 'igs.

land4,isnotintendedtobedirectiyturnedby hand but should turn to unwindfllm "therefrom onlvasfllmiswoundupontheuppercrwinding spool. videdsurrounding the turning knob II of thelowerspoolasbestshowninl'lgs.8,7.and8. This consequentlm'a'wall or.flange II is pro-' oftheseaperturesIIandII wall crflange II-closelyembraces the knob II on allsidesandextendsoutwardlysothat itsouteredge'is substantially flush withthe outeredgeof theknob.TheknobIIcanmrnfreelyinthecavityi'crmedwithinthewallll,butyetitcannot bereadily grasped and is substantiallyinaccessibietobedirectlyturnedbyhand.

The upper or winding spool. however. shouldbereadilyaccessibleforturninginordertowind-flimtobringafreshportionotfllmintothefocal plane after each exposin'e.Accordingly. both this body and the back of the cameraare providedaround the winding knob II or the.upper spoolwithwallsorflangesllasbestshowninl'igsfli and 8, but these walls ll donot completely encirclethehaob II. Onthe contrary, theyarecmittedcrcutawayontwooppositesidesofthc knob II,preferabiybeingbeveledoilasindicated at lIinl 'igj.Thusth'eedgesottbekncbllareireelyexposedattwodiametricallyoppositepoints son'sthumbandnrst'nngersotlntit canbe readilytnrnedfori'eedingthefllm.

Itlsdesirabletcprcvideanarrangementfcrpreventingaccidentalretrcgrademovementofthe andtheknobmaybeeasilygraspedbetweenaper-' mm winding rolls and also toprovideiricticnal 'resistancefortherollssothatthefllmwillrcmsintightlywoundcnthewindingroliandwillnot unrolltoorapidlyortoofreelytromthesuppiy mil.Tothisend,thedisklloneachfllmspoolispreterablyformedwithteethonitsperipheryasindicatedinl'lgasandliotthedrawings. Mounted ineachspool chamber isaresilisnt member tormedor a single piece of springy metal 1 havingtwoarlns atanangletoeachother,a curvedspslngarm'lIlocatednearthemiddleofthespoolchamber,andapawlarmlI extendingfrcmthearmlltowardcneendofthechamber..

lnthecaseofthelowerchmnbertorrsceishl the supply spool, the parts I5 and76 may be identical, but are turned upside down as plainly indicated inFig. '7 so that the arm 16 .extends toward the right hand end instead oftoward the left hand end of the spool chamber. The extreme end of thearm this time engages the smooth periphery of the disk 56 of the filmsupply spool and does not prevent rotation of the spool but pro ducesfrictional resistance which steadies the spool and prevents it fromunwinding too rapidly.

Each of these metallic members l5, it is pref erably fastened in itsrespective spool chamber by a single rivet 18 passing through themetallic member approximately where the arm it joins the arm 15, andthrough the adjacent wall of the camera body, as shown particularly inFigs. 4 and '7. Molded integrally on the adjacent wall of the body ineach spool chamber is a lug F9 for enga ing one side of the arm 16 and alug 8% for engaging one side of the arm I5. The lug it prevents eachmetallic member from rotating in a clockwise direction about its singlerivet l8 while the lug 80 similarly prevents rotation in acounterclockwise direction, so that the single rivet passing through themetallic member at one point is sufiicient to hold this member solidlyin place.

Each spool chamber may'also be provided with a,ridge or lug 8| molded inthe bottom of the chamber and located at a point between the rivet l8and the free end of the arm 16, as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and '7, to holdthe free end of the arm I6 elevated above the adjacent wall of the spoolchamber-to allow some freedom of movement in order that the end of thearm may have the desired spring action.

The back 26 is provided with an opening 85 in which is placed a sheet 86of transparent material so colored as to exclude actinic light. Forexample, the sheet 86 .may be a piece of dark red celluoid, which formsa window through which the user of the camera may observe numbers on thefilm, to guide him in winding the film after each exposure; v i f At thelower edge of the back 26 there may be provided a slight protuberance 88(Figs. 1 and 8) which may be readily grasped in order to pull the backor cover loose from the body of the camera. When the back has beenremoved, the spool of exposed film is removed from the upper spoolchamber by simply lifting the spool out of the chamber, the empty spoolis shifted from the lower chamber to the upper chamber, and a new supplyroll of film is put in the lower chamber and the end of the filmthreaded over the rear edges of the walls 2| and 22 to the upper spool,as in Fig. 4. Then the back is replaced on the camera, the winding knob60 of the upper spool is grasped and turned until the first numberappears through the window 86, and the camera is now ready to take anexposure.

The front end of the body portion formed by the walls 2| and 22 issubstantially closed by a cross wall or transverse partition II which ispreferably molded integrally with the walls 2i and 22, and which isprovided with an aperture I02. A lens I03 is held in alinement with thisaperture by any suitable means.

In front'of the wall lol and spaced somewhat forwardly therefrom is aseparate front member or wall H having flanges Ill extending rearwardlyaround all four sides for contact with the camera body substantially atits front edges; that is, the edges formed between the transverse wallIIH and the walls 2| and,22.

of ways.

In the space between the walls IOI and H0 is any suitable shuttermechanism, including, for

example, a shutter blade H6 arranged to open and close an aperture H inthe front H0 upon operation of an actuating lever I25. The frontassembly is held together in any desired manner, as by the rivet Ilfill.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that the inventive idea may be carried out in a number Thisapplication is therefore not to be limited to the precise detailsdescribed, but is intended to cover all variations and modificationsthereof falling within the spirit of the invention or the scope of theappended claims.

1 claim:

i. A camera comprising walls forming a chamher for receiving a filmspool having a dislt adjacent one end, a resilient metallic memberformed integrally of one piece having two portions at an angle to eachother, one of said portions being curved for partially encircling a rollof film on said spool, the other of said portions extending generallylengthwise of said spool and having a free end forming a resilient armrial forming a chamber for receiving afilm spool having a disk adjacentone end. a resilient metallic member secured to one of said walls intermediate the ends of said chamber and extending thence toward one endof the chamber to provide a free end for engaging the periphery of saiddisk, and a projection formed integrally of said molded material beneathsaid metallic member between the point at which said member is securedto said wall and the free end of said memher, to assist in holding saidfree end of said member away from said wall so that said free end mayforma resilient portion capable of flexing readily.

3. A camera comprising a body having means for holding two film spoolsand having two openings through each of which a portion of 'a film spoolmay project so that a portion of said spool may be located on theexterior of said body, means on said body surrounding the exteriorlylocated part of one of said spools sufiiciently to render said partsubstantially inaccessible for turning, and means only partlysurrounding the ext eriorly located part of the other spool whileleaving said, part sufficiently accessible to be readily turned by hand.

4; A camera comprising a body having an internal chamber for receivingthe major portion of a film spool, an external recess for receiving awinding knob fixed to and forming a part of the film spool, and anopening between said chamber and said recess through which a part ofsaid spool may extend, said opening being of materially smaller diameterthan said recess and said chamber. 5; The combination with a film spoolincluding two spaced flanges for receiving a roll of film between themand a winding knob'spaced axially from one of said flnages, of a cameracomprising a body having an internal chamber for receiving said flangesand an external recess for receiving said winding knob. the sides ofsaid recess being cut away at two opposite sides of said knob to rendersaid knob readily accessible to be turned by hand.

. 6.1n combinatiomscgmemanlmsuwly cbember'andexternallyoftbecamerumeanespool ands-mm minding spooLewlndlnsknob close y sumundins the w ndlnsknob 01 saidattached to each of said spools. said camera eomsupply spoolto render said knob relatively inprising means tor-min: a. chamber forreceiving accessible for turning, and menus whereby the sald film supplyspool, menus forming a. chamber knob of-snld rewlndlng spool is renderedreadily 5 for receiving said nlln minding spooks windeceessible to:turning. in; knob of each spool being locatedoutside of its CARL H.WHI'I'IDCK.

